Calls of duty means no New Year's Eve holiday

Calls of duty means no New Year's Eve holiday

JAKARTA (JP): Although millions of Jakartans celebrated New
Year's Eve enthusiastically, a thousand others had to sacrifice
their enjoyment simply because they responded to the call of
duty.

Those who missed the annual festivities Tuesday night -- from
police officers to doctors to street vendors -- worked hard
either because they had to or to earn extra money at a time when
most city residents were indulging in celebrations.

Alkindi Bahar, a physician on duty at the Cipto Mangunkusumo
General Hospital in Central Jakarta, said he accepted the
assignment without any complaint.

"I was told that I had to be on duty on the eve of New Year a
month earlier, so I was prepared not to join the celebrations,"
Alkindi, who has worked for the hospital for a year, said.

He said that on Tuesday night he was not as busy as other
doctors in the emergency wards who had to treat victims of New
Year's Eve accidents and violence.

A traffic police officer, Sgt. Ogan Loviana, said he would
have liked to celebrate the event, but as "duty comes first", he
had to obey his commander's orders.

"I had expected it to be like this, when I decided to become a
police officer," said Ogan, who had to control the traffic at the
roundabout in front of Hotel Indonesia from night till dawn.

Being away from his family during holidays is common for 34-
year-old Rahadian Arif, a rescue officer employed by Jasa Marga,
the state-run company which manages city toll roads.

Rahadian, a father of three, said he was lucky because his
wife and children understood his job, which often deprives him of
time with his family.

"That's why I always try to make up the time whenever I am off
duty." he said.

The same is true for firefighter Kamso, 48, who said he never
planned any special family celebration for New Year's Eve.

"I have never had any special agenda for myself or my family
on New Year's Eve. My job forces me to stay alert day and night
in case anything happens," said Kamso, who works for the Mampang
fire brigade in South Jakarta.

Performing one's duty. however, does not necessarily mean that
one cannot enjoy the festive mood of New Year's Eve.

Hendra, a security guard at Wisma Nusantara on Jl. Thamrin,
Central Jakarta, said he did not mind working on New Year's Eve
because he could still watch shows held at the building.

"I can go inside to join the celebration once in a while. At
twelve, we blew our trumpets," he said, playing with his paper
trumpet.

Hendra said he had spent three New Year's Eves guarding the
building since he started working five years ago.

Other round-the-clock service providers include the paging
companies. When the clocks struck twelve, marking the beginning
of 1997, paging services were inundated with calls.

Fandy, a Starpage operator said he and about 50 other workers
received at least 800 calls in the hours around midnight. Fandy,
whose shift usually starts at 3 p.m. and lasts until 11 p.m. had
to work until 4 a.m. yesterday.

"This is a service company, it is normal for us to work at
strange hours like this," he said, adding that the company had
promised overtime bonuses, but he did not know how much.

Meanwhile, the celebration which usually becomes a source of
profit-making for businesses was not enjoyed by a small
es puter vendor on a sidestreet of the Hotel Indonesia
roundabout.

The vendor, Suroto, complained that the cool temperature on
New Year's Eve made it hard for him to sell his shakes.

"There were a lot more people last year, and the weather was
warm so I made about Rp 200,000 (US$83.93) in profit," he said,
adding that he only made about Rp 25,000 Tuesday night.

Suroto, who has been selling es puter for 15 years, said
working during the holiday is common for him, as he could not
spend his time with his wife and children as they live in Klaten,
Central Java. (02/05)